Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

There is often a lot of confusion about what we mean when we talk about mental health. Many people immediately start thinking about mental health problems or mental illness – but this is only one part of the picture. Everyone has ‘mental health’ and this can be thought of in terms of:

• How we feel about ourselves and the people around us.
• Our ability to make and keep friends and relationships.
• Our ability to learn from others and to develop emotionally.

Being mentally healthy is also about having the strength to overcome the difficulties and challenges we can all face at times in our lives – to have confidence and self-esteem, to be able to take decisions and to believe in ourselves.

Having said that, it’s also important to understand when you might need to get some help or support with how you are feeling – or to know when perhaps you may be experiencing a more serious problem.

It is quite normal to sometimes feel worried, anxious or upset when things don’t go as you hope – everyone faces pressure in their lives at certain times and these can include:

• Exams.
• Work and getting a job.
• Growing up and becoming more independent from your family.
• Making up (and breaking up) with friends.